Papernation

Somehow summer is suddenly here and Bristol, as every year, is bursting at the seams with fantastic things to do and see.  One of those must-see things is the annual Jamaica Street Open Studios event, which runs this year from July 22nd -24th.

This amazing, beautiful building is home to more than 30 different artists covering all manner of artistic directions, from fine art, illustration, sculpture to photography, film, ceramics and jewellery making.

We’ve gone along to the Open Studios for the last couple of years, and it makes for a quirky and fascinating day out.  It’s easy enough to go see art in a gallery, but you don’t often get a chance to see artists’ actual studios and workplaces.  Throughout the Open Studios weekend, each individual studio is a mini gallery for the artist’s work, but you also get to see their tools, workspace, and all the bits and bobs that each artist chooses to surround themselves with.  For me, that’s just as intriguing as the actual work!

I’ve got a number of firm favourites in the list of resident artists – including Bjorn Rune Lie, Leah Hemming, Serena Curmi (can you tell I love illustration?).  Another amazing Jamaica Street resident is Emma Dibben, who draws beautiful pictures of food. You’ll recognise her work instantly, as she’s responsible for the Waitrose food illustrations that adorn their carrier bags and other Waitrose items.

Paper-cutting is another favourite thing for me, and Rose Vickers always impresses me.  The gorgeous piece shown below has been meticulously cut from a map – by hand! No laser cutting, just incredibly skillful cutting with a scalpel!

We’ve seen some of Teresa Murfin’s work in previous Open Studios, but we’re really keen to see some of her collaged work, like this cute as can be llama!

So…make sure you book the Open Studios event into your diary now…it’s a once a year thing and not to be missed!  As well as a sneak peak into the work and life of some of Bristol’s best artistic talents, there’s also an annual auction of mini-artworks from each of the artists – so you could come away with a bargain piece of original art!

Jamaica Street Open Studios

22nd -24th July, 2011

39 Jamaica Street
Stokes Croft
Bristol
BS2 8JP

I went to London on Saturday and decided to visit the wonderfully vibrant Borough Market which is just next door to London Bridge.  It’s well worth a visit if you ever find yourself in that part of London.  If you’re in no rush, get the tube to Waterloo and then walk along the south bank.  There’s so much to see and do, Gabriels Wharf, Shakespeare’s Globe, The Royal Festival Hall and the Hayward Gallery, Tate Modern…  The narrow streets are steeped in history and you can just imagine some of Dickens’ characters skulking in the shadows.

Welcome to the very first in what will become a regular series of interviews here at the Papernation blog. We’re delighted to be starting this series with San Diego based artist and illustrator Susie Ghahremani.  Susie’s work features an adorable assembly of birds, animals and people you just can’t help falling in love with.

In this interview, Susie discusses her background, inspiration and her typical day, and talks about her collaborations with Chronicle Books and iPop.

When, and how, did you first decide you wanted to be an illustrator  and artist?
I’ve always been creative, and I’ve always drawn/painted, but it wasn’t until the college application process that I realized there was nothing I would rather do in life. Before the college application process, I never felt challenged into making a decision that would affect the rest of my life like that!

Where did you study, and what is your art background?
I studied at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and earned my BA in Illustration. In my youth, I also formally trained at Interlochen in Michigan in drawing.

What inspires you the most?
Nature never ceases to amaze me with its complexity, sweetness, patterns and colors. I find constant inspiration from the outdoors. I also find a lot of inspiration in my own memory – moments I remember from childhood, fascinations of my youth, etc.

What is your studio space like?
It’s overflowing! I work from a studio space here in my home. Between the t-shirts, paper goods and all the other products I create and sell, and all my paint supplies, paintings and shipping materials, there’s hardly room for a person in there

What is a typical working day like for you?
My work days vary tremendously based on the project I’m working on at the moment. For example, if I’m working on an art show, I’ll spend the entire day painting and preparing for that. If I’m working on an illustration project for a magazine or publisher, I might be scanning and photoshopping a final painting throughout the day in between returning client emails and faxing contracts. If I’m shipping orders to my customers, I might be writing notes and sending emails and packing goodies into envelopes… Some days I spend the whole day just trying to catch up with email, other days working entirely in my sketchbook. Every day is different, which is part of what I love about my life as an artist Most days involve a good dose of caffeine in the morning and some combination of the activities above…I usually spend about 15 hours a day at work!

How do you approach each new project?
I like to treat each project as a problem that I can solve! It becomes a sort of game for me…understanding the limitations and parameters, and then brainstorming how to best make use of those constraints. Coming up with new ideas is one of my favorite parts of being an artist.

Which projects are you most proud of?
My Bon Voyage Travel Journal is something I’m most proud of. It’s an idea I had while on my honeymoon last year, and I spent the following months creating the artwork for it. It came together exactly as I dreamed it would, and I’m so proud of the end result. I’m also very proud of solo art shows I’ve had, such as “The Wild Life” in Los Angeles in 2008. It’s a lot of fun and work bringing so much art conceptually together in one room for an event, and installation requires so much planning that it’s a thrill when it all works out.

Are you planning any more collaborations with Chronicle and/or Ipop  in the future?
Yes! I have a pocket agenda for 2012 with Chronicle due for release later this summer, and I’m so excited about it! It’s called the Clockwork Agenda. I just released a new magnet collection with iPop as well!  I love working with both Chronicle and iPop & hope to continue growing my collection with them both!

A note to our readers:

If you’re as smitten as we are with Susie’s cute as a button creatures, check out these cute stationery items, featuring Susie’s work.

Bristol is so photogenic, I love taking photos around the city of the different buildings, art, food and anything else that takes my fancy. Here is my small selection of photos I want to share with you. And if you’ve never visited Bristol, I certainly hope it inspires you to visit!

Colston Street Buildings – I never noticed these colourful buildings until I stood outside Snap gallery and looked down at them. So pretty.

Painting by Mike Ogden in Westbury Park

Wills Memorial Building – always surprises me how grand it is whenever I walk in there.

The Downs on a sunny Sunday morning.

Redland Church, which I believe is now functioning as flats

The Harbourside – we were sitting just outside the Arnolfini for this photo.

Colourful houses on Gloucester Road – there is no shortage of colourful houses in Bristol!

Strawberry & Rhubarb Cake from the Boulangerie – I urge you to try this cake, it’s possibly the best I’ve ever tasted!

Street Art just off the Gloucester Road – if anyone knows the artist let me know in the comments!

Do you need a new notebook, or are you after a specific type of notebook? It can be difficult choosing which notebook is right for you. Are you into drawing and sketching, writing and general musing, or do you just need an everyday notebook to note down shopping lists, things to remember etc? Hopefully this blog post will steer you in the right direction when it comes to choosing your notebook.

You like:

Quality paper, a reliable notebook with a simple design.

Choose:

Leuchtturm & Rhodia

Both Leuchtturm and Rhodia notebooks are fountain-pen friendly and super-stylish. Leuchtturm, as you may well know from reading this blog, is new on the scene here in the UK, and is proving incredibly popular with notebook-lovers around the country. As well as the traditional black, you can buy your Leuchtturm in an array of different colours and paper styles, so if you’re after great paper in a colourful cover, then Leuchtturm is the one for you.

Rhodia is instantly recognisable with its orange and black covers. Designed and created in France, the Rhodia range of notebooks are a good choice if you’re looking for a notebook with quality paper. Many of the Rhodia notebooks also have an inside pocket to store receipts, scrap paper and anything else you fancy in them.

You like:

Spiral bound notebooks

Choose:

Rhodia, Notes for my Daily Life, Whitelines or the Idea Log

Sometimes spiral bound notebooks are particularly useful, especially when it comes to list making or for me, using a notebook in the office. I have to have a spiral bound notebook in order to flick through the pages of work notes and lists more easily.

Marks Inc., from Japan, have designed a range of quirky and highly functional notebooks. In a variety of colours, the ‘Notes from my Daily Life’ notebooks contain 300 pages with a space at the top of each page to note the date and title.

Rhodia have a great range of spiral bound pads and notebooks in the classic orange and black colours. The collection also includes spiral bound notebooks with the spiral at the top. Again, perfectly functional and stylish.

Whitelines are probably the most “revolutionary” notebooks we stock, due to the amazing white lines (ha!). Designed by a Swedish designer (of course! Who else?!) , Whitelines notebooks have basically turned all the dark lines and squares in what would be a standard notebook, and turned them white, making writing, drawing and diagrams just pop out of the page. I do love them, and a Whitelines notebook is next on my wish list.

The Idea Log is a nifty notebook for all your ideas, with pages to jot down inspirations and the sources of those inspirations.  Then move on to the brainstorm pages.  And finally, the project pages, where your good ideas take shape.

You like:

Pretty, flowery notebooks

Choose:

Orla Kiely, Rosehip, Jill Bliss or Cavallini Butterfly Notebooks

Orla Kiely’s iconic and instantly recognisable designs have long been loved by the fashion world, and not long ago she launched her stationery line to include notebooks, magazine racks and storage boxes. The colours she uses are just lovely, and if you’re after a pretty looking notebook then I’m sure Orla will do it for you

The Rosehip notebooks are all made from recycled paper, and are all very pretty – they are soft backed and could fit in your handbag quite easily.

Jill Bliss is an Oregon-based illustrator and designer and her drawings are pretty, whimsical and really individual. The Succulent Eco Journal is also printed on 100% recycled paper with soy-based ink, so not only is it pretty, but eco-friendly too!

The Cavallini designs are collages taken from the Cavallini archive – they make lovely covers for the notebooks and this one in particular is perfect for flora and fauna enthusiats out there.

You like:

Animal designs on notebooks

Choose:

Woodland Bunny, Clear Skies Eco Journal, Matte Stephens Summer City & L’apres-midi Notebooks

All 4 of these notebooks feature animal themes, and there are many more on our site. Most of them are quite new in, and are great as everyday notebooks as well as for writing and doodling. The ones shown above are all lined, except for the Woodland Bunny journal which has decorated, plain pages.

Susie Ghahremani, the designer of the Clear Skies Eco Journal, is a US-based illustrator and her designs have been incredibly popular. It must be the cute squirrels and owls that she illustrates! Look out for a feature on Susie in the near future

Matte Stephens is another US-based designer, and his illustrations and designs often feature cityscapes and animals – especially cats!

You like:

Pocket notebooks

Choose:

Bamboo Pocket, Cavallini Typewriter, Orla Kiely and teNeues

Most of our main notebook ranges come in pocket sizes (think Leuchtturm, Moleskine, Whitelines, and Rhodia etc.) but here are some others just to get you going

The Bamboo Pocket Notebooks are a set of 4 soft back notebooks with plain paper – perfect for carrying around for those impromptu moments of inspiration!

The teNeues collection of notebooks are unique in that they have both plain and lined pages – doodles on one side, lists on the other!

If you’re still struggling with what to go with, the notebook section on our site is divided into sections for ‘ruled notebooks’, ‘blank notebooks’, ‘pocket notebooks’ and many more subcategories.

I hope you’ve found this post useful and it helps in some way to get the right notebook for you!

Some visual treats for you today with the beautiful new Cavallini & Co Decorative Wrapping Paper that has just come in.  They are fantastic to use to give your home a couple of decorative touches.

I’ve already bought the Italia one for my friend who loves anything to do with Italy and put it in a clip frame for her. I’m also thinking of buying a couple to stick behind some shelves at home to make them a bit more interesting, and my partner also really wants either the world map one or the England one to hang in a frame (map-themed room, anyone?!).

Also, the new ABC Gift Wrap would be perfect for a child’s room or nursery, as would any of the maps.

Which one do you like best? I’m finding it really hard to choose…

ABC Decorative Wrap

Vintage Ephemera

Plan of London

Italia

British Isles

Paris Ephemera

Fleur Ephemera

Bird Ephemera

It’s that time of the week again! Friday is upon us, and here are some of the cool things we’ve found on the internet over the last couple of weeks that we thought you might enjoy.

Art in the Landscape in Finland

• Do you like cats? Do you like Instagram? Then this is definitely the site for you!

• In case you missed our Twitter update, Cavallini & Co have some new magnets, which are now on our site.

• If you’re in Bristol, head to the Colston Hall for the Made in Bristol event, which is free

• Inspiring film about how bicycles can peoples lives.

• Love this vintage Penguin & Pelican books collection on Flickr.

• Love this Plan of London map that we’ve just had in.

And now to end here’s a couple of really cool videos:

This must have taken ages!

And finally check out this amazing paper cut video from the talented Wye Oak:

Wye Oak – Fish from Merge Records on Vimeo.

Have a great weekend everyone!  And good luck to those running the London Marathon on Sunday

We’ve had some lovely children’s products in this week, so I thought I’d share some of them with you. Rachel Ellen‘s fun illustrations have long been popular with parents and children. Her illustrations are fun and playful, often appealing not only to children but to the young at heart, and her ballet and princess designs have been some of the most popular. Incidentally, she used to be a ballet dancer herself before moving to stationery and card designing!

The new colouring books below are bound to be a hit with girls and boys, and make a cute gift. The Fuzzy Friends stamp kit is also new – kids can now not only cover their colouring books with amazing coloured pencils and felt tip pens, but cute little stamps too! (Why am I not a kid now?!). They are washable and safe to use, so there’s no need to worry about your little ones staining their hands (or anything else for that matter).

Rachel Ellen Colouring Books, Stabilo Pencils and Stamp Kit

Adorable pictures! I would have loved these as a child!

Such lovely colours!

I couldn’t resist featuring those Stabilo pencils in this post. The colours are great, so vibrant! And of course they’d be perfect to buy as a gift with the colouring books. Look out for lots more Stabilo products coming to Papernation in the near future!

Some of our products for the list aficiondo

1. My Future Listography 2. KTWO To Do notes 3. So as Not to Forget 4. Today – Mini Goals 5. Curious Lists

I’ve always loved making lists. My notebooks are constantly covered in bullet point lists of things that are ‘to do’ or ‘should do’ that almost never get crossed off. When I go on holiday I have to make various lists (categorised into clothes, useful things, essentials etc) so as to remember those things that I really don’t want to leave behind. I recently did a stint of 8 months travelling…you can imagine how convoluted and ridiculous the lists for that were!

My list for today. I’m proud to say I got almost all of it done!

I think the bit I like the most is the actual the list making – the contemplating what is going to go on my list. Does that sound ridiculous? It’s often the most satisfying part of the whole process. And once it’s done, it’s a great feeling to see what you’ve got written down, or as Jane O’Brien brilliantly put it (in my opinion) from an article on the BBC “[a] sense of satisfaction from having created a rigid timetable of impossible tasks” . Whether you’ll ever do even half the things on that list is no matter. (In any case, they’ll go on tomorrow’s list!)

Pages from the My Future Listography Journal.

What made me want to write this blog was the arrival of the My Future Listography Journal. I really like the simple layout of the journal, the fact that it is really just all about lists (no hiding behind the façade of a notebook!). Some of the pages are shown in the picture above. It has 1 page in a double page spread dedicated to a specific list, such as “list TV series you want to see”, “list museums you want to visit”, “list events to time travel to (past or future)” and the best of all “list the lists you want to make one day”. The accompanying illustrations are also really cute.

Apparently Picasso, Benjamin Franklin, Martha Stewart, Thomas Jefferson and Madonna are famous list makers. I would like to have seen Picasso’s lists, i’m sure his were adorned with all sorts of weird and wonderful doodles.

Do you make lists? Do you have different categories of lists, like I do? From our Facebook competition yesterday about notebooks, I can see that a lot of you are very much into your lists!

As you may well know, we are big fans of Postcrossing here at Papernation. If you haven’t heard of it, their website puts it quite nicely with “send a postcard and receive a postcard back from a random person somewhere in the world”. I’m quite new to it, but Annette has been postcrossing for a while now.

I thought I’d share with you my second ever Postcrossing postcard, which is from Finland. I have written on my profile that I would quite like hearing about traditional  recipes or customs, and my Finnish postcrossing buddy has sent me a recipe postcard from none other than the Moomins! With the help of Google Translate, and a couple of Twitter friends, I’ve translated the recipe to share with you.

Small My’s Blueberry (Oven) Pancake

4 eggs

1 litre milk

500 g wheat flour

100 g sugar

1 tsp salt

400 g blueberries (or bilberries, if you can find them)

50 g butter

You can sprinkle a bit of sugar to taste

Whisk the eggs.  Add about half of the milk, and all the flour, sugar and salt. Whisk all the ingredients together until smooth then add the remaining milk.  Let it stand for about 15 minutes.  Line a baking tray/oven tray with greaseproof paper.  Preheat the oven to 225 degrees Celsius. Brown the baking sheet briefly (note: not sure why you have to do this!?) then pour the batter into it and sprinkle the blueberries (or bilberries) on top with a little bit of sugar.  Bake for 30 mins.

I’ve found this picture on the Internet of what it might look like: mustikka pannari but it’s not a very attractive picture.

In short, I think it should almost be like a sweet Yorkshire pudding, with tasty fruit sprinkled on top!

Thank you to Postcrossing, and to my Finnish postcrosser Enjoy!